The cat intelligence quiz determines how smart your kitten is based on feline IQ studies. Just answer 20 simple questions about your cat to find out.
What’s the Cat Intelligence Quiz?
Comprised of 20 intelligence quotient questions, the test is an assessment of your cat’s brainpower.
A cat’s brain, although relatively smaller than most felines’, has enough neurons to make it intelligent.
But the question is: How smart can it be?
The current quiz analyzes the three criteria of cat intellect—object permanence, emotional response, and attachment style—to answer that.
How Smart Is Your Kitten?
On average, a cat is as smart as a toddler, capable of understanding vocal or spatial clues, social responses, emotional bonds, and the existence of nonapparent items. (AKA object permanence).
| Cat Breed | IQ |
| Abyssinian | High |
| Siamese | High |
| Bengal | High |
| Burmese | High |
| Cornish Rex | Moderate |
| Savannah | Moderate |
| Exotic Shorthair | Low |
| Persian Cat | Low |
How Can You Test Your Cat’s Intelligence?
There are 3 tests to measure your cat’s IQ: 1) Hide a treat under glass. 2) Leave your cat alone in a room for a while. 3) Act suspicious or scared of a new object.
If your cat retrieves the treat, greets you upon getting back to the room, and reacts to the new object the same way you do, it’s intelligent.
However, if it ignores the hidden treat, your return to the room, or your reaction to the new object, its intelligence is average.
What Are the Criteria for Assessing Cat Intelligence?
As with other animals’ IQ, the cat’s intelligence is examined based on the following three factors:
Object Permanence.
An average feline understands hidden objects exist despite getting concealed or obscured. It is able to locate an item—or at least guess its possible location—after it’s out of sight.
To test that, show your cat its favorite toy and then hide it behind a piece of furniture. See if it searches for the toy around the same area or forgets about it.
Social Reference.
Cats respond to humans’ emotions and social clues. For example, they refuse to interact with things that humans are afraid of. The phenomenon is called social referencing, the act of responding to new concepts based on others’ reactions.
To test the theory, act scared of an unknown object. See if your cat avoids it, too.
Attachment style.
Although different from humans’ attachment styles, cats, too, create emotional bonds with their owners. Secure attachment, the healthy relationship between the animal and owner, indicates higher intelligence. Contrarily, insecure and non-apparent attachments suggest the opposite.
To test your cat’s attachment style, observe its reaction after reconciling with you.
If the attachment is healthy, your cat greets you and resumes its routine afterward. But if the attachment is unhealthy or insecure, it either becomes clingy or takes no notice of your arrival.
For a better analysis, take our other quiz, Does My Cat Love Me?
Are Cats More Intelligent Than Dogs?
Cats are NOT more intelligent than dogs. They have half as many neurons as dogs in their Cerebral Cortex, making them slower learners.
But being slow learners doesn’t mean cats are less intelligent than dogs. Cats are clever in different ways than dogs. For example, they are better at demanding needs such as food, attention, and affection.
Things to Know Before Taking the Quiz
You’re questioning your cats’ cleverness. You want to know if it’s really aware of your relationship and likes you back. (We get it). But there are three things you must know before participating in the test.
Intelligence differs from cognition.
While cognition is the ability to think of things, intelligence is the ability to use cognition for problem-solving. A non-intelligent cat is still cognitive. It has consciousness. In other words, it knows who you are and is aware of your emotional bond—despite being bad at solving problems.
Most online cat intelligence tests are invalid.
A valid intelligence test is harmless, non-compulsory, and repeatable.
Don’t repeat what you see on TikTok. Grabbing your cat and rushing it toward a wall is not how you test its intelligence. (Your cat might simply avoid stopping you because it trusts you).
Patience is key when analyzing cats’ IQ.
Some test questions require you to do a certain experiment with your cat. If that’s the case, please remain patient and repeat the process several times for accurate results.
Ready to Explore Your Furry Feline’s Brain?
In about five minutes, you will learn how smart your cat is.
Note that guesswork decreases the test accuracy. So, it’s best to experiment with your cat and observe its reaction before answering the questions.
By the way, for a super-fun experience, check out “What Cat Breed Are You?” next.
How to Play?
Playing personality quizzes is straightforward: Choose the option that’s true about you—or you relate to—and select “Next.” Unlike trivia quizzes, personality tests have no right or wrong answers. But the questions are in forced-choice format. The point is to push you to choose an option that makes the most sense, not the one that’s 100% true. For the most accurate results, don’t overthink your responses. Go with options that you “feel” are the best.
Questions of the quiz
- 1How does your cat react when you call its name?
It responds or comes towards me.
It just looks at me.
It ignores me.
- 2Does your cat ask you to pet specific areas?
Yes, all the time.
Maybe, sometimes.
No, it doesn’t.
- 3Does your cat communicate its needs with distinctive noises?
Yes, it has different meows.
Kind of. But it’s not quite distinctive.
No, I don’t think so.
- 4How does your cat react when you hide its toy?
It immediately starts looking for the toy.
It tries to find the toy but gets distracted quickly.
It doesn’t even try to find it.
- 5What would your cat do if you placed a treat under an object?
It would try to retrieve it.
It would get irritated and make noises.
It would not react at all.
- 6How does your cat interact with TV?
It often just watches it. (Never touches it).
It rarely touches the TV. (Often ignores it).
It always touches the TV.
- 7What usually happens when your cat gets in front of a mirror?
My cat never reacts to its own reflection.
It usually stays calm.
The mirror often spooks it out.
- 8Does your cat avoid objects you don’t want it to touch?
Yes, our communication is good.
Most of the time, yes.
No, not at all.
- 9How would your cat react if you placed a piece of thread on its body?
It would remain calm and ignore it.
It would remain calm but push the string away.
It would go crazy or try to stop me.
- 10How many words/commands does your cat understand?
3 or more
2
1 or no words at all
- 11Which one describes your cat’s morning routine?
It has a strict morning routine.
Its morning routine changes once in a while.
It doesn’t have a morning routine.
- 12Which one is similar to its evening routine?
My cat has a strict evening routine.
Its evening routine doesn’t change often.
It doesn’t have any evening routine.
- 13How does your cat tell you that it’s hungry?
It sits near the bowl or guides me to it.
It just meows loudly.
It goes crazy and does weird stuff.
- 14Can your cat follow your finger and understand what you’re pointing at?
Yes, it’s pretty quick to get my gestures.
Kind of. It gets some of my gestures.
Not at all. It ignores all my gestures.
- 15How does your cat react when you arrive home?
It greets me and gives me head bumps.
It becomes clingy and annoying for a while.
It ignores my arrival.
- 16Does your cat’s behavior change when you’re emotional?
Yes, it responds to my emotions.
I’m not sure.
No, it often ignores me.
- 17Does your cat respond to strangers calling its name?
No, it only responds to my voice.
It depends. She might do so.
Yes, my cat can’t distinguish my voice.
- 18Does your cat like a variety of foods?
Yes, it tries new foods all the time.
It only likes a few foods.
No, it only likes one specific food.
- 19When does your cat go to sleep and wake up?
When I wake up/go to bed
When my other cat or pet does so.
I don’t know. Its routine constantly changes.
- 20Final question: How does your cat react to moving toys?
It usually ignores them.
It plays with them for a short time.
It goes crazy and doesn’t stop chasing the toy.
